Mail catcher and deliverer.



'No. 733,025. PATENTED JULY 7,1903.

' J. W. GILBERT.

MAIL GATGHBR AND DELIVERBR. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 30, 1902. no nopnn.

2 SHBETSSHEET 1 11"! "III."

attozueg o THE "cams PETERS co. wuow'au'mu. WASHINGTON, u. c.

, taken up by the train and the delivered bag UNITED STATES Iatented July 7, 190a.

ATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. GILBERT, on HILLIARD, o1-1io, AssIGNoR o THE GILBERT MANU- FAOTURING COMPANY, or COLUMBUS, OHIO,A CORPORATION OF orno.

MAIL CATCHERAND DELIVERER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 733,025, dated July 7, 1903.

' Application filed August 30, 1902. Serial Ila-121.6145. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern! Be it knownthat I, JOHN W. GILBERT, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Hilvide a device which can be used as both a holder or deliverer and a catcher or receiver at one and the same time, so that one mailbag can be held in position for the train and at the same time the device can receive and hold a bag delivered from the train. Another object of the invention is to pro vide a device of this kind which can be ready so as to operate inconnection with trains moving in either direction. p

- Wlth these objects in View the invention consists of the novel features of construction,

combination, and arrangement, all of which will be fully described hereinafter, and pointed out in the claims. h

In the drawingsforming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating my invention adjusted for holding a mail-bag in position to be taken up by the train, said bag being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective View showing a portion of the railway mail-car provided with my improvement and which is to be used in connection with the mail-bag holder shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view, partlyin section, illustrating the main portion of the mail-bag holder and catcher. Fig. i is a detail view showing a portion of the combined holder and catcher. Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating the manner of catching one mail-bag and delivering another at one and the same time, the caught bag being being received and held by the holder. Figs. 6, 7, and .8 show detail perspective views of portions of the holder, and Figs. 9, 10, 11 are detail views illustrating that portion of the invention carried by the. mail-car.

In carrying out my invention I employ an upright frame A,comprising the face or sill A, upright portion A and the top piece A and this frame is preferably arranged adjacent to the platform Aflwhich is arranged by means of steps constructed and arranged in the ordinary manner. The casting B is 1 arranged within the upright frame A and is pivotally mounted between the uprights A said casting having trunnions B, which are jonrnaled in bearings B secured upon the inner faces of the uprights A gitudinal tubular portion B the bore of the rear end being of greater diameter than the bore of the forward end. This tubular portion does not extend entirely to the forward end of the casting B, but stops short of said forward end, so that the said casting projects beyond the said tubular port-ion upon opposite sides, as most clearly indicated at B in Fig. 6, the purpose of which will appear hereinafter. Acylinder-rod G is arranged in the tubular portion B and carries a nut 0 upon its rear end, and surrounding the rear portion of the rod and within the enlarged portion of the bore of the tubular member is a spiral spring 0 the purpose of which is to normally hold the rod within the tubular member B The outer end of the rod 0 is reduced, as shown at O in Fig. 7, and said reduced portion being provided with a rib O and secured to this reduced end is one memberof an esing cutaway upon the under side, as shown at D, to receive the rib or shoulder portion .0 of the rod 0. A clip-plate D embraces the reduced end 0 and securely fastens the "U -shaped arm to the outer or forward end of the rod, and it'will be noted that thismember of the U -shaped arm rests against the forward end of the tubular member B and upon the projecting portion 13 of the casting and will therefore be held in a horizontal position so The free member of the U-shaped arm is longer than the member connected to the rib C and upon its outer side is provided with a spring-finger E, the purpose of which will appear hereinafter. An angular gripping-arm This casting B has a 1on1 long as the casting is held in such position.

F is pivotally connected to the U-shaped arm and preferably at the point where the said U shaped arm is connected to the rod 0, said lever F being of such shape that one portion thereof will extend across the U-shaped arm, while the other portion thereof will be in alinement with that member to which it is pivoted, and in order to hold the grippingarm F in either of these adjusted positions I employ a spring F, which surrounds the pivoted pole F and bears upon the said grippingarm, said spring being held in place by the nut or washer F An arm G is hinged to the top A of the frame A, said arm carrying a weight G at its lower end and a T-shaped head G2 at its upper end. When a mail-bag is to be held, the arm G is pulled down to a'horizontal position and the top ring H of the mail-bag H is slipped over one end of the T-shaped head G The casting B is swung up to a horizontal position, and the lower ring H of the mail-bag is brought into engagement with finger E. The gripping-arm F will be arranged in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3. When the train appears, the hook I carried by the car is thrown out, so as to grip the mail-bag, and

as the car passes on it is obvious that the bag will be pulled away from the holder, and the casting B will then drop, and the weight G of the-arm Gwill cause the said arm to swing to a vertical position. At the same time that a bag is taken from the arms G and D a bag may be delivered into the U-shaped arm from the train, and if such be the case that portion of the gripping-arm F which extends across the U-shaped arm is thrown around in alinement with the member of the arm and the other end of the gripping-arm is thrown across the U-shaped arm, thereby gripping the bag thrown into the U-shaped arm, and in order to provide for delivering a bag to the holder at the same time that one is caught up by the train I provide the hook I with a springfinger K, similar in construction to the finger E and which is adapted to receive the upper ring L of the bag L. The lower ring L is adapted to fit upon the T-shaped head M of the bar M, pivoted to the plate M which is adapted to be secured to the sill of the cardoor. A lever N is also pivoted upon said plate, said lever having a T-shaped lug N, which is adapted to fit beneath the bar M when said bar is thrown downwardly, as indicated in dotted lines Fig. 1 and full lines in Fig. 10. This lever N is also provided with a foot-piece N and by pressing upon said footpiece the lever N can be drawn downwardly, throwing the bar M back to its normal posision after the mail-bag has been drawn therefrom. The bar M is provided with a T-shaped head, so that it can be used when the train is moving in either direction, and the arm G is provided with a T-shaped head G for the same purpose. The U-shaped arm D is reversible, so that it can be used in connection with trains moving in the same direction, and

in order to reverse the arm it is only necessary to pull upon the rod 0 until the member of the U-shaped arm clears the projection B The arm is then reversed and the spring will immediately return the rod, together with the arm, to its normal positionthat is, against the tubular portion B and resting upon the projections B.

It will thus be seen that I provide a simple, efficient, and durable construction whereby a mail-bag can be held in the proper position for being delivered to a train and at the same time the said bag is taken up by the train another mail-bag can be delivered to the holder from the train.

While I have shown the ordinary form of hook upon the car, I desire it understood that my improved form of casting may be readily applied to the door-framing of the cars without materially altering the construction there= of; further, by simply providing the hooks now in use with the springfinger the said books may be satisfactorily used in connection with my improvement.

Having thus fully described my invention,

'what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination with a frame of a weighted arm havinga T-shaped head, a casting pivoted to the frame and having a reversible U-shaped arm connected therewith, spring-actuated means for holding the said arm in its proper position, a spring-finger carried by the free member of the U-shaped arm and an angular gripping-arm arranged upon the other member, together with means for holding the said gripping-arm in its proper position as specified. V

2. The combination with the frame, of the weighted arm, the pivoted casting and the reversible U -shaped arm, said arm being provided with means for holding a mail-bag,- and the swinging hook adapted to be carried by'a mail-car, a hinged bar having a T-shaped head and a finger arranged upon the swinging bar, as and for the purpose specified.

3 Tl1eeo-mifination with the swinging hook o'fthe spring-finger arranged thereon,a hinged bar having a T-shaped head, a pivoted lever having a lug adapted to engage the hinged bar for the purpose specified.

4. The combination with the frame, of the casting havinglaterally-projectingtrunnions, and a longitudinally-arranged tubular portion, the rod arranged in said tubular portion, the nut arranged upon the rear end, the spring arranged within the tubular portion and bearing against the said nut, the U- shaped frame rigidly connected to the forward end of the rod, the spring-finger carried by the free member of the U-shaped frame and a gripping-arm pivotally mounted upon the other member, substantially as described.

5. A mail-bag catcher and deliverer comprising a frame, an arm pivoted thereto, a revoluble shaft carried bysaid arm, and a U-' shaped arm secured to the outer end of the shaft adaptedto hold one end of a bag to be member of the U-shaped arm and a sp'ringdelivered to a car, and to receive a bag definger carried by the other member of the U- Io livered from a car. shaped arm, substantially as specified.

, 6. A mail-ha" catcher and deliverer com- 5 prising a stati nary frame, an arm pivoted JOHN GILBERT thereto, a U-shaped arm adapted to hold one Witnesses: endof a mail-bag reversibly secured to the J. A. GGD'OWN,

arm, an angular gripping-arm pivoted to one F. G. WINTENINGER. 

